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More Nifty (That's Right, I Said Nifty!) Artwork From UNDERDOG!!
Merrick here....
A while back, we posted a piece of concept art from the forthcoming UNDERDOG movie. You can see the piece HERE.
David Chase has returned with more images...more concept art from the film.
I think it's a pretty safe bet that the film won't capture the visual texture the artist is going for here...which is too bad. I wish more directors would realize their images in the tone in which they're rendered in pre-production (or at least consider the atmosphere being posited by the artists).
I mean, imagine the vibe of some of that awesome Ralph McQuarrie pre-production artwork for STAR WARS actually being captured on-screen .
Not sure if I'm making any sense here...these notions may be too esoteric to convey. But, if you're a Geek who wonders why the end-product often doesn't pack the same punch as the earlier designs...then that's what I'm talking about.
[[[e-mail Merrick]]]
I think it's a pretty safe bet that the film won't capture the visual texture the artist is going for here...which is too bad. I wish more directors would realize their images in the tone in which they're rendered in pre-production (or at least consider the atmosphere being posited by the artists).
I mean, imagine the vibe of some of that awesome Ralph McQuarrie pre-production artwork for STAR WARS actually being captured on-screen .
Not sure if I'm making any sense here...these notions may be too esoteric to convey. But, if you're a Geek who wonders why the end-product often doesn't pack the same punch as the earlier designs...then that's what I'm talking about.
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First?
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P-p-p-p-puppy Power!
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Please send the money currently allocated to this project to staving children in africa. Thanks.
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That this is DUMBEST idea for a movie since Uwe Boll's last abortion.
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Thats right and i am talking about putting this puppy down, i think castration would only sweeten the deal but i want to see a dead dog buried not for it to claw its way on screen.
Having said that i am not the target audience the kids are, and if the kids want to see it you know its a hit. Hell i'd wager if it looks half as good as the art does it will beat the superman returns bank.
As for art pre and post there is always that loss, but thats where the action /acting should come in, which is making me think my bet was kind of stupid.
Kids don't let me down ! -
Pretty simple idea really, and one I agree with. It would be great if directors could make what is on screen look more like what is shown in concept art. 'Nuff said.
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Did Homer Simpson pitch this piece of shit?
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Mediocre films look like expensive TV, unless they look like cheap dentist office paintings (remember "What Dreams May Come"?). Good films have a definite tendency to look like good artwork. As to whether the art on display here would make an "Underdog" movie good, or just look like a contemporary superhero movie that happens to star a dog, is the question. Frankly this look is to 2007 what Batman/Bladerunner riffs were to 1995's "Judge Dredd" through 2002's "Minority Report," where this hazy, dusty, "City of Lost Children"-minus-the-reason-to-look-that-way look started to take over. Did anybody ever ask themselves why it shouldn't instead evoke some of the 60's-early-70's nostalgia which is the only reason to dig the orginal show, let alone make a movie based on it? It isn't as if Underdog screams to have a movie made out of it, but what it certainly does not do is sit up and beg for a Burtonesque re-imagination.
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If you're going to be an asshole, at least be an asshole who is RIGHT. Which...you are not.
http://tinyurl.com/yjjnly
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oppsy daisy... you seem to have shown all at AICN that you are a thick inbred shit who knows diddly squat about starwars.....LOL
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Where you see images, you don't know anything about it, and in your head, you automatically imagine how it could be awesome. Aaaaaand then you see trailers and commercials for it and you realize it is hackneyed crap. I haven't seen either, so I'm still in that wistful mode, but I think "skeptical" isn't a strong enough word for how I feel.
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...where the lawyer's acapella group is covering cartoon theme songs (I think it was season two...my wife has all of them DVRed) and, I have to admit, their version of Underdog made me wonder what this movie is going to be like. Dare we hope to be mildly amused?
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How do you squat mid-flight?
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...not sure it will translate well to the big screen, though.And "Nifty" is a mighty fine word, so is "Neato-Keeno" Both are better than "da bomb" [but I am approaching Curmudgeonly Codger Coot-hood, so your mileage may vary]
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Dogs see in essentially black & white right? They see limited color right? So isn't a flying dog soaring high above the city kind of silly? You'd think to be an effective flyer you'd need a great sense of sight, like an eagle or something. Dogs rely on smell....they sniff everything....how'd that compatible with flying high up in the air, hundreds of feet from the nearest butt? Now that Underdog is live action these questions are valid. Shouldn't a live action Underdog be flying into walls and be a completely ineffective hero?
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I mean, if we're talking crime-fighting canine action, I'd rather see some dog-foo. What's next.., a Grape Ape reboot?
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Knowing who the matte artist was on Star Wars and Empire (and then getting mad about it) makes you even more of a doofus in my book.
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if the movie had that kind of magic, I'd actually be interested.
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why Ritchie did Bobby Lupo?
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Dogs can't see in color, so they can't fly well.
Maybe Underdog was bit by a radioactive flea, so he can not only fly, but also can see in color. Or maybe a radioactive bat, so he doesn't need to see at all, just uses his new sonar skills!Crucial Logic and deep scientific analysis of "The Flying Dog Paradox" resolved, herewith.:~)
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There was a pix of Yack.
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Is heavily lifted from the cover photo to Underworld: Sites of Concealment, a photography collection by Peter Seidel. Amazon link below:
http://tinyurl.com/yhench -
But you, sir, are no Batman.
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Ralphy did do some Bespin matte painting for Empire.
see also: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0574319/
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The city trembles! Did we ever find out why, in the earlier pics of Underdog, two different dogs appear???
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This is SO not "Underdog," at least, not any one I've ever seen. It's a bit like they took Bugs Bunny, made him an actual CGI rabbit, and then made Elmer Fudd into a version of "The Punisher."
It's their movie and they can do as they please, but this goes far beyond "re-imagining." -
You guys quit fighting, how many fights have you two had over a period of a year? And Merrick, you ~both~ are right, allthough Merrick...your "holier then now, i am a geek god" attitude because you work on this site, does get alittle annoying..i am afraid it is impossible for you to know all =) Besides, arent you are supposed to be setting a good example for potential flamers on this site...by showing some class? And yack! I love you as much as i can love a dirty "man nerd"but you do not just go around calling people "stooges" before you research, it made you look like a jackass because he actually was correct. ~smacks your hands~ bad geeks!! baaad! next time this happens we will have to break out the "A-D@D" create you a couple characters...and have us a battle of the nerds.
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Fair enough, and thank you.
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Merrick undoubtedly assumed that Yack was saying McQuarrie was NOT a pre-production artist. This is the same conclusion I drew from Yack's missive, and would be an incorrect statement. Yack was PROBABLY trying to say that McQuarrie was responsible for realizing matte paintings based on his own pre-production art. Either way, no matter who did matte paintings, he didn't render them all. And, Merrick is correct in that there is a marked disparity between the atmosphere of many of the production designs & how they ultimately appeared on screen. Which is a topic that fascinates me.
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as Wally Cox has of voicing Underdog in this piece of shit.
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Merrick,
I couldn't agree more w/your comment about the difference between the pre-production artwork & the final look of a film. For as cool as Star Wars ended up looking, there is a much more of a 1930's Pulp Fiction/Flash Gordon-esque vibe to Mcquarrie's artwork that would have been equally cool to see up on the screen...much of it has an even darker & edgier quality than the finished film. -
The old cartoon Underdog? Are you seriously telling me that they are making a movie based on that old out of date cartoon? I seem to be constantly reminded why i no longer work in Hollywood ...or for Paramount...lack of originality, what the hell is wrong with the film industry now adays? Remakes are annoying as it is, ~and as if there has not allready been one to many of those the past 7 years~ but comon!! You would think they learned their lesson after the "Rocky and Bullwinkle" movie, or George of the jungle, i swear these movies need to be boycotted!! and people need to march into hollywood and up to whatever studio exec thought this would be a good idea...and slap his face silly with a dead salmon.
As if we dont have few enough good films now adays, that we need to see shoeshine boy and his amazing alter ego "Underdog!" Lame! I dig nostalgia and old cartoons as much as most...but f*#k off!....whats next? a live action "Lancelot Link~secret chimp" movie? or how about "Tennesee Tuxedo" and then we can hire some respected older actors ~like Deniro~ who need to make a condo payment, to star as the villian... sound good?! And do not tell me that you are actually excited by concept art for an "Underdog" movie Merrick?..it screams "cool" to me....*cue sounds of burt reynolds chewing gum* -
you have a point with art often changing from better to worse, and that the finished product is nowhere as "nifty" as the end result.
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Did I miss the previous 2 scoops on this? As ridiculous as this looks the comments and talkbacks were hysterical.
Hell I may even go see this. It cant be any worse than Fantastic Four. -
"Underdog dons his "Gotta Take A Shit Mask"
Best fucking laugh Ive had in forever.
I think the mask thing is gonna surpass "has a beer and cheats on his wife" -
if they would just stick to the source material it will be fine. but they won't. it will be about some dog in a cape and some of the names will stay in tact but that will be as far as the connection goes. i have no hopes for this film.
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...I would actually pay money to see a big-budget "Lancelot Link" movie. Cast of chimps = solid laffs. You can keep this "Underdog" shit, though.
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Riff Raff and Simon Bar Sinister were almost equally present as villians, but I get the feeling that they will go with Simon. The Riff Raff stories were always better, and if they use Riff I have hopes for this. It would be a step in the right direction and a sign that fans of the show are behind the scenes.
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That's an amazing matte against the State House; I live outside Providence, and can see the State House from my yard. It makes Providence look like Metropolis. NICE.
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I think concept art is a little too over done nowadays. If the director needs that much help in determining atmosphere then he's a director who needs to work on his imagination. Yeah, they look very pretty and are technically well executed, but what ever happened when someone like Joe Johnston could do simple ink spaceship sketches and have them transformed into some of the coolest designs to ever grace the silver screen. Even McQuarrie's paintings, on close observation, were actually really darn loose but the designs were amazing.
I know many don't agree but it's kind of like the difference between Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo. Frazetta can do in five brush strokes what it takes Boris twenty to accomplish. Just my opinion -
It was the best episode, for my money. Of course this choice only works if they do away with any kind of origin story and assume that everyone is familiar with the characters. It would be a gutsy call, but the sight of all those cows getting sucked into flying saucers would pay off.
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Hollywood usually plays it safe though, so I see a Simon Bar Sinister/Riff Raff 1-2 punch if the series has legs. I agree though, if this is in the hands of fans and they are not doing an original story altogether, they should go the Daredevil route and take the best stories. I think Overcat might be a little much as an introduction to a new audiece, since he was the Doomsday of the series. It's hard to top Overcat unless you just create a new villian. I see the natural progression as Riff Raff, Electric Eel, Simon Bar Sinister then Overcat. This assumes that the series justifies a 4th film though. Playing it safe, I'd drop Simon altogether and just use the best villians in the first 3. Simon is a little too Lex Luthor like, so to separate Underdog from the pack, the unique villians should be used first. Obviously this point is moot if Spiderman IV has Electro in it.
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I'd like to see them do the High Noon episode. It has all the classic elements, Polly in peril, appeal to adults, and a plot where the hero truly is the underdog despite having powers. It was also hysterically funny.
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And not just because he played The Wolf in Pulp Fiction, although it would be a great inside joke. He has the right voice and a great combination of humor and menace.
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I really wasn't thinking about casting, but Keitel as Riff Raff?! How cool would that be?!! I like the High Noon episode too Spooge, although the Just In Case would be just as good for my money. Now it's got me thinking, who should voice Overcat?
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So it probably is pointless to talk about voices, except for possible sequels. In that case though, I'd think a great Overcat would be Sylvester Stallone or Hulk Hogan, FOR REAL! This would actually be a film where casting Hulk Hogan would not be just a joke, but a damn good choice. And he's probably cheaper than Stallone too.
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Is that a joke, or was that a real character? I remember seeing this cartoon a few times and remember Riff Raff and Simon Bar Sinister and Battyman, but never heard of Overcat.
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they'd look better with Christina Hendricks in them. ;)
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could be the coolest thing EVER!!!
Lucas caught some of it but not enough. -
Obviously you were not a true fan, as Battyman was one of the worst villians. Anyone who watched Underdog seriously puts the Overcat episode in their top 3. EVERY TIME. They only used Overcat once, but it was such an incredible story start to finish. I think they only used Battyman twice, but people remember him for reasons of incredible suckitude more than anything else.
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Because that would make no sense. In the Underdog verse there were only dogs and people. Well, there were a lot of alien invasions, but cats couldn't talk, as far as I remember.
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I just did some research and they have already settled on Simon Bar Sinister as the villian. Not only that, but the whole concept is different. Underdog is a pet of a boy. A pet who gets super powers. Ugh. It sounds like there is no regard for the fans on this one, just Hollywood cashing in on a name. I for one won't be seeing this, in htat case.
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This is going to be a huge pile of feces! Grab your pooper scoopers!
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And squats over Merrick.
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...and that's still not saying much. Maybe DC will sue and bring it to a grinding halt before it hits theaters.
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Jan 16, 2007 8:56:24 PM CST
Is a Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse movie far behind?
by orbots commander
You remember, right? The knock-off cat and mouse dynamic duo who used their multi-purpose utility guns to fight crime.
Actually, as a kid I never so much looked forward to the cartoons themselves coming on, but more looked at them as the anticipatory opening act prior to the showing of a great Abbott and Costello movie on Sunday morning TV. Best A&C movies include the ones with the battley royal of the Wolfman, Dracula and Frankenstein's monster; another good one is the Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde. I also cannot forget the flick where Bud and Lou go to Mars and land smack dab in an Amazonian civilization populated with statuesque godesses. -
Nice spin; nice run at Merrick...but you DID indicate RM was NOt a conceptual artist in your first message. That may not have been what you intended to convey in your first message, but that's how Merrick read it (and a few other readers as well), so clearly *you* (at the very least) miscommunicated to begin with. You're so desperate to be right, so desperate not to be made fun of, so desperate to defelct attention from your own screw up that you're not holding yourself accountable for your inability to communicate effectively. Merrick's not the one who looks like a jackass here anymore...it's you. I'd be embarassed if I were you, and I'm gald I'm not.
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you remind me of some of the Brits in the hannibal talkback. yet, I also think that "repligin" who posted therein was from the future. perhaps you're an old austin hippie who knew harry's dad in the golden age of austin's peace and drug years. oh wait, they're still in those.in any case, I vote Merrick, Harry and the rest of the guys who run this site give you some sort of moderator rights, or editor rights. something, anything--you deserve it. that piece you wrote above is probably the best "argue both sides" I've read since law school. good work!
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Merrick wasn't entirely wrong, and you weren't entirely right. Hardly cause for a victory dance, you floppy twat.
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Sorry if this makes you lose your boner fella!! But i am sad to say i am just some nerdy Japanese woman with bad grammar,who can talk the wind out of her ass about film has nice legs,and a dog who finds it a delicacy to lick the cats ass.
And I am not sure wether to take what you said about me being a part of the "MOD squad" as an insult,sarcasm, or a sincere gesture...so for the sake of confusion i will respond to all three possibilities, in which the first two i would say "fuck you and chew me" and for the last one i would say " your sweet, five dolla.... me love you long time" But i do not think i would want a job as a mod in here, it gets hard enough coming in as a spectator and TB'er and reading people bitch about the flames on Optimus, or about How small Don murphy's dick is, or my personal favorite and most annoying "new" catch phrase ~insert so and so's name....GOTTA EAT~ That a MOD job does not sound appealing, I love film, i went to film school, i work in the industry...and i often scare off boyfriends by quoting lines from ~Cool Hand Luke~ while they try to sleep after sex " shakin the tree boss....shakin the tree!" ...and even though "some" might actually talk good film and make good points on this site, it seems more like it is about being a fanboy,and sucking up to the actors or directors. Often i find that the reviews on this site can be biased because of some "personal" relationship with a director, or trying to "network". Sure every reviewer is going to give a review from their own personal perspective, but the whole point of a review is to sum up the film in a way that it gives a clear message and idea ~to the general public!~ of what the film is about,and what they are getting into by paying money. And more often then not, the reviews are vague,and way off, and i will go to see a flick after reading a positive review on here, and go "what the f*ck is this shit!" I mean Sin City for example, yah it was an okay,decent flick, but it was not everything harry built it up to be..i would never own it, once you see it one time...you do not need to see it again, unlike movies like "blade runner,indiana jones,cool hand luke or the first alien movie" those are good cimena..among many others. But is harry not "friends,and or an aquaintence" to QT or RR? i mean somebody correct me if i am wrong. And i also have seen many people get banned for speaking their minds in the TB's, if it has anything to do with their opinion on the MOD's on this site...unfair. There is a difference between being a troll,starting shit for the sake of it,being an asshole, and speaking your opinion. Do not get me wrong, i love this site in terms of its possibilities, i have been coming and reading the TB's for a long time, but i think that it should not be a matter of "power" and "who knows more about certain small details of a movie" it she be about "open minded" conversation, about good film, i mean we all come here because we love to talk film right? i say certain people need to drop the pride, you cannot know it all, and the only way you can improve knowledge and learn anything, is if you LISTEN or take other peoples opinions into consideration, something most do not want to do here...because everybody needs to be right, grow up!
You do not need to call someone a moron, or "jerkwad" because they got their info wrong....or "you think" they got their info wrong, just correct in a civil way and move on...or take it out back to the sandbox. I have seen Merrick bite the bullet before when he was wrong, i believe that he responded in a negative way because yack jumped down his throat....I would have to...fairs,fair.
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If i seem hostile i am not, i am just bitchy because it is that time of month that i am "shark bait" or how do you say "floatin the tomatoe boat" so if i offended anyone, i am sorry if "you feel" that way, but i did not "make" you feel that way to begin with.... you chose to....and for those who might not like my opinion, to bad, if i had a set, i would tell you to lick my b**lls. How come guys get to say shit like that and its an insult, but if a girl were to say "lick my c*nt, the tounges would be wagging?
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Hey, at least Merrick didn't say Rocky was directed by Sylvester Stallone I'm mean what idiot would make that mistake.
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Nice name drop! I love "Near Dark, it is definatly up there in my top 20 favorite movie list. And I "personally"think that it is Bill Paxtons best performance to date, considering every other movie i have seen him in he comes off as whiney...wait,maybe thats only when he is teamed up with James Cameron =P And what about Joshua,John,miller? now that kid was good shit! allthough he always was a strange looking little bastard...thought he had a growth Deficiency like Mary,Lou,Retton, or "gary coleman" turns out he was just creepy... how bout that!! thats good acting for you. I never cared for him in that movie "gate" but he was also equally weird in "rivers edge" heh..everytime i think of that movie i have the visual of "keanu reeves" badly acting out sex faces, when his girly bones him in the sleeping bag. And who could forget Adrian Pasdan, he went from a great movie like Near Dark into the arms of a Dixie chick...how saucy!
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nothing Brings sexy back, more then Judge Dredd's dirty Undies. Bad movie! And i never said Merrick was educated in film knowledge... or that he has not made poorly informed comments regarding movies...that might ruin his credibility among TB'ers...i said that i have seen him bite the bullet and admit he was wrong before. So aside from your name reminding me how bad they buggered up a decent comic like "Judge Dredd" what is your point?
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I gotta go with Yack on this one. He clearly was not saying that McQuarrie was not a conceptual artist. Just saying that Merrick was a fool for blaming Lucas for unrealized art, when McQuarrie was personally responsible for what we saw on the screen. However, I do not believe that Merrick was only talking about scenes with Matte shots. The McQuarrie drawing of Luke and Vader fighting with the gas masks on is classic, as is the painting of them in front of the emperor's throne with lava surrounding them. These are images that did not make it into the movie because Lucas decided not to put them in. It had nothing to do with McQuarrie's inability to translate his own conceptual work to the screen.
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My subject heading was induced by the excitement of my first sighting of one of the legendary girl talkbackers. My actual comment had no point it was just a joke at the expense of Mira "got my ass whipped by Uwe Boll" Jeff
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and I like conceptual art -- yet I'm not a millionaire -- what have I done wrong???
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I am far from Merricks friend, and have more respect for yack, if you read my above post i have a major problem with some Mods on this site and yack knows that, my biggest point was that yack does not need to be dishing out names and being an ass because someone was wrong...either way, once again, it should not be about who's right and who is getting his ass "pwned" in my eyes they were both assholes about it, merrick actually got it worse then yack,because merrick is a mod and should be alittle classier. But i have also seen yack, dish shit out to people on several occasions when he was not right..no one is always right. This thread is dead, its no longer about film, and instead about a bunch of testosterone driven males..showing their dicks to see whos is bigger.
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...the obvious porn spin-off.
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My dick is biggest of all the talkbackers, I can pull it over my taint to the top of my arse crack.
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MYSTERY MEN.
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I was behind you 100% and being absolutely sincere. one thing I want to do for you is help you out with breaking up your posts. as such, here's how you put a break or new paragraph in there: without the space in b/w the . check it out: now, perhaps you already knew how to do that? not sure. if you didn't, you owe me one. if you did, bully for you. in other news, I am married, and thus lost my "boner" ages ago.
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